A blade system or a system including partitioning function includes multiple server regions being included in a single casing but being independent of one another. The casing also includes a manager that manages the multiple servers and shared components. The manager is typically configured to be a board, called management board (MMB), detachably mounted on the casing. On the MMB, a service processor and a flash memory that enable the firmware to operate are mounted to exert functions of monitoring voltage, temperature, and fan rotating speed of the casing and controlling the power source, the electric power, and the fan on the basis of the results of the monitoring.
If a hardware failure occurs in the MMB, the failed MMB needs to be replaced with another MMB. In the replacement, the version (e.g., Ver. A1) of the firmware mounted on a new board to be replaced for the failed board may be different from the version (e.g., Ver. A2) of the firmware operating on the failed board. In this case, the system manager or a person in charge of maintenance (operator) replaces the failed board with the new board and then updates the firmware of the new board to the firmware that has been operated on the failed board. In other words, the version of the firmware mounted on the new board is updated from Ver. A1 to Ver. A2. This updating intends the system is kept operating using the firmware of the version that has enabled the system to stable operate and thereby reduces the risk of occurrence of an unexpected system error even after the replacement of the board.
Conventionally, the system manager or the person in charge of maintenance has determined, after the replacement, whether the firmware on a non-volatile memory mounted on the new board needs to be updated. If determining that updating is needed, the system manager or the person in charge of maintenance brings an external memory, which stores therein the updating firmware, executes the program from the external memory, and updates the firmware.
Furthermore, conventional replacement of the board has been carried out in the following manner. First of all, instruction means and storing means are prepared exterior of the board and, before the replacement of a board, setting data containing various settings of the firmware that has been operated on the previous board is temporarily evacuated to the external storing means. Specifically, the operator temporarily evacuates the contents in the non-volatile memory through operation in obedience to the instruction means. Then, after the replacement of the board is completed, the operator restores the contents of the previous board which contents have been evacuated to the external storing means to a non-volatile memory of the new board through operation in obedience to the instruction means. In this method, the operator makes the backup of the setting data when the setting data of the firmware is to be modified, and after the new board is replaced for the previous board restores the backed-up setting data to be the setting data of the firmware of the new board.
However, the above manner needs determination as to whether the firmware need to undergo updating, the determination being made by operator and partially being made by manual operation. For the above, it takes long time to replace the board and the replacement has a possibility of unexpectedly stopping the system operation due to operation mistake. In addition, there is possibility that the operator does not grasp the version of the firmware having been operated on the previous board and therefore does not determine whether the firmware needs updating, so that the firmware of the same version as that on the previous board is not restored on the new board.
When the setting data of various setting of the firmware is taken over from the previous board to the new board, the above method forces the operator to accomplish the operation using external instructing means and storing means, which needs considerable labor. Some failure occurring in the board may make it impossible to evacuate the contents in the non-volatile memory before the replacement, which may result in that the contents on the non-volatile memory disposed in the previous board are not restored in the non-volatile memory in the new board. Furthermore, each time the setting data is modified, the operator has to make the backup of the modified setting data, which takes considerable workload. If the operator forgets to make the backup of the setting data, the setting data is not restored, which forces the operator to manually set the setting data again.
The above conventional methods have the following problems.
After the MMB (management board) is replaced with another MMB, the operator has to confirm whether updating of the firmware is need, but the need for updating is sometimes indeterminable.
The operator manually updates the firmware, which takes time and has a possibility of system halt due to operation mistake.
In some cases, the setting data of the firmware is not restorable.